Snow Fun Around Town

Snow on a day off is the best- you don't have to go anywhere if you don't want to, and you have time to enjoy it. But if you do want to go somewhere, you can! And that's just what I did. I had never seen snow on the beach before, and somehow forgot to check it out last winter. So I took my camera down to Dowses Beach just before the daylight hours ended and caught some pictures.

The roads weren't bad at all, as the Northeast usually knows how to manage snow. And, for some reason, they had even plowed the parking lot at Dowses!

 

East Bay

The red stuff you see is seaweed- we have a surplus of it.

I baptized my parents in that water!

On the way back, I saw the clock glowing in front of the church and just had to get this shot.

It was a fun journey- even better to come home to a warm home and warmer family. What a beautiful part of the world God has called us to.

Snow Fun Around the House

Just today a native New Englander and I were talking on the phone and she asked if I liked the Northeast compared to Florida. "One of my favorite things," I told her, "is the snow." And it really is true. While I'll always miss water-skiing with my Mom and Dad on New Year's Day, and they took me other places that had the most amazing snow I've still seen, there is something wonderful about living in the snow.

We got our first respectable snow last weekend, at about 7 inches on our lawn. Sarah enjoyed it for the first time, and I finally was able to access the beach for some photographs (which we'll post soon.)

Little Girl likes the taste of snow.

And she really likes being pulled on her sled.

Later on, we built this guy.

Emily helped for a while, and then came in to watch Sarah watch me.

So I just had to come play with her. Her reflection in the glass is perfect.

Waving at all the passersby.

A friend came by with a snow blower, and even let me have a go. 

The End of the Wallpaper

Most of our friends and loved ones knew from day one that there was one thing we truly didn't like about our house: the wallpaper. We've been wanting to take it down for so long, and this MLK weekend the time finally came. We had finished our trim painting project. I had worked Monday in order to get a head start on the Annual Report, and thus got Friday off. Then, choosing to forgo my usual Saturday half-day of studying, our slate was empty for four days, except for church Sunday.

There were, it turns out, five different types of wallpaper in the house. Here you can see, from these old photographs, some of the old Dining Room wallpaper:

 

This is the paper we first went for on Friday, and it came off as easily as a refrigerator magnet.

 

In a matter of minutes, the Dining Room looked like this:

 

The hardest part was getting all the fixtures off, some of which were more complicated than a simple light switch. Then some of our friends had to take an emergency trip to California, similar to our recent trip to Mississippi, and left us with their son Elliot for the afternoon. Elliot is quite smart and all boy, so I quickly realized that the thing he would enjoy most is tearing down the paper himself.

After a few hours, and two bathrooms of wallpaper on the floor, Elliot and I played outside and read until Todd came to pick him up. Then Emily spent the evening taking down the upstairs bathroom while I polished off some details downstairs. We had put in only five hours and had gotten 40% of the house done (and three of the five paper types)!

Saturday morning we got up and attempted to get some of the harder stuff done. The easier stuff was finished, and we felt very encouraged by that. As it turns out, The entire next day would be spend on one wall, this one:

Most wallpaper has some glue underneath, and a little fabric softener is necessary to neutralize it. But a small fraction of wallpaper is also coated in vinyl, which prevents anything from soaking into it (thus preventing anything from dissolving the glue.) This was that small percentage that was as stubborn as it was ugly, and no amount of scoring and soaking would do the trick. I imagine we put in 18 or 20 man-hours that day slowly defeating it.

As aggravated as we were, Sarah was somehow content to play with her toys the whole time:

Sunday afternoon one of our church members came over, which was not only a help but also a catalyst in speeding up our work. We only had two tools to remove it, so I went downstairs to get my old window washing razor for her to use. That, it turned out, was exactly what we needed. The rest of the house had one kind of paper, and it too was difficult. But this razor could get underneath it and was sharp enough to actually cut the top layer off. Then a little fabric softener would soak right in to the under-layer and take it right off. That afternoon we were able to get the whole kitchen done, even behind all the cabinets and appliances.

Then Monday morning came and we were able to use this new technique to finish the entire first floor: both entrances and the hallway outside our bedroom. What a relief to be done!

Now all that remains, for another time, is this tall stairwell. The wall goes about eight feet higher than the top of the picture here (it's funny what you never concern yourself with about your house until you do work on it.) I think I have a plan, but it will require some precarious ladder positioning!

 

Now comes the part where we take all our dreaming of paint colors and turn it into work!

Happy 18 months!

One and a half years old...can it really be?! Sarah hit 18 months last Monday as we spent the day taking down wall paper. It is truly a testimony to her growth and maturity that we were both able to work all day while she played by herself, moved around the house, and obeyed when necessary. It just keeps getting more fun!

Weight: 25 lbs, 4.5 oz (60th percentile)
Height: 32 in (60th percentile)
Head: 19 in (91th percentile)
Diaper: size 4
Clothes: 18 month clothes still fit well, but she is quickly moving into 24 month. Her bottom seems especially big and she might have a long torso.  Shoes, size 4.
 
Likes: playing at her toy stations, playing with plastic cups (and other items that aren't toys, but aren't bad to play with), combing her hair, having clean hands, reading, dancing with her wrists, playing music, being chased, being tickled

Dislikes: doctors, being asked to stand up when she wants to be picked up, having a taste of something she likes then having it taken away, orange food (but this is getting better), nursery (again)

Schedule: It took us a while to settle on a schedule this fall. September 1st, the day we found out we were expecting, Sarah took a great morning nap and never went down in the afternoon. We thought it was a fluke, but nope, that was the new normal. She wasn't ready for just an afternoon nap, so we settled on an hour or so of rest in her crib when she got tired in the morning, but not sleeping. As our routine solidified (including being out for at least 3 mornings a week) she has been able to take the one afternoon nap and make it, happily, to bed time. She is going down around 7:00, sometimes earlier, and waking up between 7:00 and 8:00.

Eating time: Sarah still loves to eat, but has gotten to a stage where she is sometimes hesitant to try new foods or an item that she remembers as something she doesn't like. Recently, we won the let-it-sit-in-front-of-you-until-you-eat-it battle with great results. Some current favorites are peanut butter on toast, peas, kiwi, pineapple, and any type of bread. Our best weapon when we go to someone's house for dinner is to feed her bread the whole meal. She doesn't make a peep and goes home full and happy.

Talking: We have seen great improvement on this front- praise the Lord! She is clearly saying many words now and understands pretty much everything we are saying. The road to two way communication is a great one! Words she says: baby, mama, dada, hi, bye bye, night night, light, bow, bear, beads, ball, blocks, good girl, thank you (though this is still better as a sign), alrighty, and no (an opportunity for discipline at its finest). She also is learning some animal sounds, particularly for dogs and cows. Sometimes she sings along as we are putting her to bed or with her fridge magnet toys. It is very cute.

Walking: Still not walking solo and still seeming like any minute she could let go and be steady. She cruises around furniture, pushes the kitchen chairs like a walker, and pulls up on anything. She just has to gain the confidence! A friend who has done some work with early intervention and had a late walker herself came over one morning to give me some ideas for play activity that would "wake up" Sarah's muscles. They are fun for all, so well see if it really makes a difference.

Teething: Sarah now has 7 good teeth: 4 in the front and 3 molars (all but her bottom right one). The molars definitely have expanded the selection of food we feel she can tackle and she has fun really chewing things rather than just swallowing them down.

At today's appointment: We were very encouraged by the doctor we saw today and feel like our prayers for the doctor to be reassuring and proactive were certainly answered. She said that Sarah is right on track in almost all areas, including speech and number of teeth. Walking is the only thing she is lacking. While the doctor watched Sarah stand and walk and was convinced that everything looks fine, she said that at this stage they like a neurologist to take a look. We expect to get a call tomorrow about an appointment with one of the children's hospitals in Boston and to see someone within the month. That will (Lord willing) rule out any possible internal issue. We also expect to hear from the people at early intervention by the end of the week. They take a more a physical therapy route and will come to the house to "play" with Sarah and inspire us. We are still confident that Sarah will walk in due time, but are excited to take some steps to ensure that we aren't holding her back in any way.

Next appointment: Her 2 year-old well baby visit is scheduled for Monday, July 23 at 10:45.

Sarah loves helping Dad

Being sweet for Halloween with the neighbors

She loves her snow suit...even though she can't move a bit in it

Playing in the car with Dad

Reading with Grandma B...she especially loves to turn the pages

Taking care of business

Teething and toddering

Hanging out with Bear while admiring (but never touching!) the tree

"What?!!! There is something awesome inside?!"

Southern Miss, to the top!

Bundled up for a (snowless) winter walk

Sweet potatoes aren't so bad when you get to spoon them yourself

It's a Boy!

We are excited to share that we are (more than likely) having a little baby boy. If you ever get a chance to see our not so internet-friendly picture, I think you will be just as convinced :)

Unlike our other ultrasounds, we decided that I should attend this appointment alone. Dave was able to keep Sarah at the office while continuing to do some work. Like me, he loves any chance to see our little baby as an acrobat, but after the 1.5 hours of wrestling Sarah a month before, he felt we would all be more calm if I went alone.

This appointment was with an ultrasound tech who sets up in one of the exam rooms at the doctors' office twice a week. She was personable, professional, and super quick. I was in and out in 30 minutes, and that includes the times I got up to drink water, take a walk, and do some flexibility moves in an effort to get a picture of baby's spine.

Right off the bat I asked her if she would write down what we were having, only if she was sure, on the piece of paper I brought and seal it in the envelope. She was thrilled and excited to join our fun. I was thankful that she still talked through everything she was seeing, though she never focused in on gender such that I could tell. Then out of the blue she said she got a good look and was certain. Hip hip hooray! She sent me out of the room while she printed a few pictures and sealed one of them as well.

Needless-to-say, holding those envelopes was torture. I went by the office to pick up Sarah and Dave wasn't long behind us in getting home. A kind church member who knew we were going out to dinner volunteered to watch Sarah earlier in the day, so we promptly dropped her off and headed to Outback. It was agreed that after we had our drinks and had each taken a bite of the bloomin' onion, we would open the envelopes. Dave took the picture and I took the note. This is what I found...

 

This is the photo we immediately messaged to family

It seems are having a baby boy! We are excited for this new adventure and thankful for all that the Lord will teach us along the way. Our prayer has been that he and Sarah might be friends and siblings who love one another. For the rest of dinner (we split ribs and a wedge salad...YUM) we talked baby names and, oddly, what items we might want to purchase with this new addition. I think that knowing gender made it real enough to think through the details! We invite you to join us in praying that the name we give this child would be the right one. Our main prayer is that we would choose a name with a powerful meaning and possibly heritage, something we would want to come true in our little man's life. 

For your enjoyment, the other couple of pictures the tech printed for us (minus the most obvious). We looked at these before dinner.

Shout out to Dad!

Little man's profile

Ready to Shop

Sarah is ready to shop! Well, only if she is using a gift card. Otherwise this new move is mighty dangerous!

Appointment Recap and Ultrasound Update

Yesterday I attended my regular monthly checkup and was assured that everything is fine and the baby sounds healthy. The heartbeat was between 120 and 130 bpm, so pretty low. The myth would say that means we have a little man on our hands, but studies have shown no actual correlation. We won't add any blue to our lives just yet!

I also asked about sleeping on my stomach and was assured that it is OK for the baby as long as it is comfortable for me, which she reminded me won't be forever. I'll take it! Now to conquer these way too vivid, detailed dreams. I got so angry with an airline in a dream this weekend. The fourth representative I talked to out of five booked me two Volvos to drive from Atlanta to Pittsburgh rather than seats on the plane. Such precise randomness!

Our biggest question coming into this appointment was whether they would want to schedule another ultrasound...and they did! While I was assured that everything seemed healthy, the nurse practitioner found insufficient pictures of the nose/lips and spine. I appreciate that while she knew how excited we were to find out gender in our last ultrasound, I don't think she would have lied to the insurance company on our behalf. That was very important to us. This time we booked our appointment with the ultrasound tech who comes to the office where we see the doctor. We are praying for a healthy baby and clear results!

Ultrasound: Tuesday, January 10, 3:15pm
Next appointment: Monday, January 30, 10:45am (at this appointment they will give instructions about the glucose test...yuck!)

Christmas Morning

This Christmas morning was especially wonderful, with a little girl just old enough to get excited about opening presents and Sunday worship with our church family! We had already opened most of the gifts on Christmas Eve, but left a few for the morning.

Sarah was perhaps the most excited we've ever seen her. Both the opening of the gifts, which were once forbidden to the touch, and the gifts themselves made her very happy. Boy, did this little girl receive some presents! Once she figured out that the paper was just a covering, the most wonderful surprise-face came upon her, which then turned into joyful unwrapping. She would then play with the toy until- the hardest part- we would pull her away from it to open a new present. This would of course start the whole process over again.

Sunday worship was great as well. Christmas is always my favorite when it's on Sunday, and this year was no different. It may be the first time I've gotten to lead the church on Christmas, though. Two desires were on my heart: that our singing would be the most memorable thing about the music and that the morning would feel special. I knew there would be the danger of Sunday worship feeling like a necessary obligation on Christmas Day rather than a highlight, or of the musical accompaniment overshadowing the fact that God's people were singing together. With limited musicians available and those desires pressing, we decided to simply sing traditional carols together with a small piano-led ensemble.

I was so glad to see it go well. We kept the children in the service, and they all behaved so well. One of them even made the service more memorable by shouting "yaaayyyyy!" after the first and last songs. With that little girl spreading cheer, the sweet singing of songs we all know, and many people staying afterward for doughnuts, it really was the merriest.

Afterward we came home to change clothes and run off to the airport. But that's another post! For now, enjoy the pictures of Sarah opening her presents. 

Fridge Phonics from Mommy and Daddy

A stuffed bear from our neighbors, the Matthews

"It rips open!!!!!!!"

All sorts of fun loot from the Artmanns and Great-Grandma.

She really was amazed to find that there was something inside.

The family on Christmas Eve